Autologous adipose tissue (or fatty tissue) transplantation is performed by many surgeons for various cosmetic and reconstructive procedures. Autologous fat transplantation involves retrieving adipose tissue using liposuction techniques from an area of abundance and then re-injecting the harvested adipose tissue into a different site of the same individual for cosmetic/reconstructive augmentation or enhancement purposes. Generally, prior to the re-introduction of the tissue into the patient, the adipose tissue must be processed or cleaned to maximize the chances of implant survival. Such processing is preferably accomplished while minimizing the exposure of the tissue to air as much as possible. However, the adipose cells are relatively delicate and the number of steps and length of time required to separate and process the harvested tissue prior to re-introduction into the patient contributes directly to the success of the operation and decreases the likelihood the tissue will be rejected.
However, the nature of liposuction procedures preclude easy tissue isolation after initial harvest, especially on a large scale, because the volume and/or viscosity of the extracted liposuction effluent also contains unwanted components such as oil, blood and anesthetic solution. Currently, there are no standard techniques, methods, or devices that exist for the simple, large scale isolation and refinement of liposuction-harvested adipose tissue. Although a number of specialized cannulas, needles and methods for tissue harvest and preparation exist, these techniques are tedious and inefficient. Often, the harvested fat is introduced into a centrifuge further traumatizing the fat and adding more steps to the process before the adipose tissue is re-injected back into the patient. As a result, centrifuge-free processes have been developed.
Known centrifuge-free processes require a large number of steps which result in a cumbersome harvesting and re-injection process that leaves room for much improvement.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an efficient, simple-to-use, low-cost to manufacture and assemble tissue collection and processing device that reduces the trauma to harvested tissue, improves the amount of useful tissue, and maintains a sterile processing environment.